Overview
The SPS Triad is a diagnostic framework for understanding business health and identifying growth bottlenecks. Every successful business needs all three dimensions working together.
The Three Dimensions
📋 Strategy (S)
Your ability to make high-quality decisions about WHAT to build, WHO to serve, and WHY it matters.
Key Questions:
- Do you have a clear, differentiated value proposition?
- Do you know exactly who your ideal customer is?
- Can you articulate why your solution is uniquely suited to solve their problem?
- Do you have a coherent business model?
Signs of Strength:
- Clear positioning and messaging
- Deep customer understanding
- Focused product roadmap
- Competitive differentiation
Signs of Weakness:
- Trying to serve everyone
- Unclear value proposition
- Feature bloat
- No coherent vision
💬 Persuasion (P)
Your ability to communicate value, influence decisions, and move people to action.
Key Questions:
- Can you clearly explain what you do and why it matters?
- Do you know how to reach your target audience?
- Can you convert interest into customers?
- Are you effective at sales, marketing, and fundraising?
Signs of Strength:
- Strong conversion rates
- Effective sales process
- Clear, compelling messaging
- Growing audience/community
Signs of Weakness:
- Low conversion rates
- Struggle to explain your value
- Marketing that doesn't resonate
- Difficulty closing deals
⚙️ Systems (Sy)
Your ability to deliver results consistently, scale operations, and build repeatable processes.
Key Questions:
- Can you deliver your product/service reliably?
- Do you have documented processes?
- Can your business operate without you?
- Are you building for scale or fighting fires?
Signs of Strength:
- Consistent delivery
- Documented workflows
- Automation where appropriate
- Scalable infrastructure
Signs of Weakness:
- Constant firefighting
- Heavy reliance on you personally
- Quality inconsistency
- Can't scale without breaking
Common Patterns
Balanced Excellence
All three dimensions are strong. Focus on optimization and growth.
The Visionary Seller
Strong strategy and persuasion, weak systems. You can sell but struggle to deliver at scale.
The Strategic Builder
Strong strategy and systems, weak persuasion. You have a great product but can't get traction.
The Execution Machine
Strong persuasion and systems, weak strategy. You're building the wrong thing efficiently.
How to Use This Framework
- Assess Honestly: Rate yourself 1-10 on 10 questions per dimension
- Identify Pattern: Understand your specific business archetype
- Find the Bottleneck: Your weakest dimension is usually your constraint
- Prioritize Actions: Work on your constraint first for maximum leverage
- Reassess Regularly: Take the diagnostic every 3-6 months to track progress